COM 295 FINAL EXAM ANSWERS

1. Vanessa has been assigned the task of creating an effective business message aimed at improving the productivity of the employees in her company. In the process of creating the business message, she studies the background of the employees, their needs, and priorities. To which step of the planning process for developing influential messages does Vanessa’s action typically belong?Idea developmentMessage reviewMessage structuringAudience analysis2. Gregor who works at a textbook company has put together a presentation proposing that the company save money by getting its images from less expensive stock photo sites. Gregor needs to present his idea to the executive committee. Considering the content of his presentation, which of the following people on the committee should he most try to influence?The design directorThe marketing directorThe production editorThe editorial director3. Which of the following facilitates a one-stop work space containing project and meeting information, shared files, and communication platforms?textingwritten messagessocial networkingWebinar4. Rick is trying to schedule a video teleconference with colleagues at several locations. To do so, he needs to coordinate their schedules and also check to see if the company needs to invest in any additional resources to make it happen. By addressing coordination and resource issues, he is dealing with:constraintimmediacyrichnessControl5. The career summary section of a résumé should provide the candidate’smajor accomplishments, abilities, and attributesobjective for the job searchmemberships, awards, certifications and licensure, and activitieslist of personal references6. Your coworker LaRita has asked you to review her slide presentation You notice that it is difficult to recognize and process the most important ideas and information. To help her fix this, what will you recommend that she change?She should choose dark backgrounds and text colors.She should include a compelling image every few slides.She should limit her text to five words per line and three to four lines per slide.She should use bold or italics to highlight key ideas.7. Which of the following is a trait of individualists?They tend to follow the perceived dreams and goals of the group as a matter of duty.They communicate directly to efficiently deal with work tasks and outcomes.They stay in relationships even when they are no longer mutually satisfying.They tend to stay in contact with and work through extended networks.8. Lori is using secondary research to develop a business report How can she write her report in a way that demonstrates originality in thought?Use the most current documentation guidelinesCite all her research sourcesGenerate her own conclusions and recommendationsAdopt a methodical approach to decision making9. A mistake that many job applicants make while creating résumés is:neglecting to include areas they need to improve onhighlighting only a few of their abilities and attributesforgetting to include their hobbies and other intereststrying to display everything they do well10. In order to design your slides to facilitate ease of processing  you should:use complex charts for complex informationuse at least one compelling image on every slidelimit your text to ten words per lineprovide as much information as possible on every slide11. _____ is the process of converting meaning into messages composed of words and nonverbal signals.EncodingTranslatingFilteringDecoding12. In the context of developing persuasive messages, which of the following is most likely to help you demonstrate a voice of competence?focusing only on logical appealsdeveloping strong ideas in the interest of your audienceusing only emotional appeals in your persuasive messagesadopting the tone of mass advertising such as over-the-top appeals 13. A colleague asks you for advice on how to understand the audience of his persuasive message. Which of the following pieces of advice will you offer?Ask as few questions as possible to avoid annoying them.Consider the psychological principles that impact people’s decisions.Focus on their values and not their needs.Wait until the message is perfected before choosing the right audience. 14. Performing at the highest standards, not just for oneself, but for the team, for the supervisor, for the consumer, and for the company’s shareholders, indicates a sense of _________.individualityfuture-orientationopportunityAccountability15. Your résumé should tell a story of:everything you have learned and done in your previous jobthe value can provide to a companyhow you plan to improve your areas of weaknessyour educational accomplishments 16. Which of the following is true of documenting secondary research sources?Ideas that are summarized do not require documentation.Statements that are paraphrased do not require documentation.Writers can use a variety of documentation systems, including MLA and APA styles.The only thing that has to be documented is a direct quotation.17. In the context of persuasive messages, validating your readers means that you are:demonstrating a business need—a gap between what is and what could beproviding solid reasons why your product, service, or idea benefits readersrecognizing and appreciating others’ needs and preferences as legitimateovercoming objections by providing counterpoints 18. By doing audience analysis, Radika discovers that the people she will be giving her sales presentation to know very little about her product. Because of this, she is likely to decide to:use only emotional appeals in her presentationspend more presentation time informing the audienceinvolve them in her presentationeliminate bulleted and numbered lists from her slides19. Which of the following is typically included in the drafting stage of writing an effective business message?ensuring that the communication is fairidentifying the primary message and key pointsfinding the needs of the audiencesetting a positive and other-oriented tone 20. One of the first tasks to accomplish when developing a presentation is to:gather content for an effective reviewunderstand the needs of your audiencedevelop effective slidesuse headings to create a storyboard 21. Which of the following is useful advice on conducting business across cultures with those who have limited English ability?Determine a person’s level of communication proficiency within the first few moments of your interactions with them.Allow those with limited English ability enough time to process their thoughts into English.Use slang and jargon instead of literal language as much as possible.Speak at your normal, regular pace instead of speaking slowly as this may be viewed as disrespectful.22. Javier is an editorial manager at a publishing company. He wants to give one of his supervisors an “Employee of the Year” award. Which of the following supervisors should he choose if he is looking for an employee with a strong sense of caring?Paul, who is the best copy editor and proofreader in the departmentJenny, who helps her employees develop the skills that will allow them to advanceAyesha, who always takes on extra work to help the department meet its deadlinesJon, who sets short- and long-term deadlines for every project and meets them promptly23. In order to focus your presentation on people, you should:use a lot of “I” statementsavoid using presentation software or other technologymake individuals and groups the subject of your sentencesinclude as many photographs as possible in your slides 24. Which of the following is an example of projected cognitive similarity?Rico assumes that all cultures are inferior to his culture.Elana assumes that no two cultures are alike in terms of values and norms.Bill assumes that the cultural stereotypes shown in the popular media are true.Deirdre assumes that other cultural groups have the same values as her 25. Which of the following is an example of psychological noise?Jenna’s boss does not take her complaint seriously because construction noise prevented him from hearing it.Jenna’s boss does not understand what she tells him because his hearing aid battery dies.Jenna’s boss does not take her complaint seriously because he thinks teenagers always exaggerate.Jenna’s boss does not understand that when she says a product is “bad,” she means she likes it. 26. Which of the following is typically included in the reviewing stage of writing an effective business message? ensuring the communication is fairidentifying the primary message and key pointsfinding the needs of the audiencesetting a positive and other-oriented tone 27. Which of the following should contain all your research sources and should be provided at the end of your report?table of contentscitationsthe reference listthe executive summary 28. _____ noise occurs when communicators apply different meanings to the same words or phrases.SemanticPhysicalCognitivePsychological 29. Which of the following is true of competence?It has grown less important in the post-trust era.It is innate and cannot be gained through experience.It increases when individuals focus on connecting with others.It is often evaluated by one’s track record of achievements. 30. Bao is conducting a study that compares the cost of keeping print messages on file versus storing digital messages in the cloud. What aspect of communications relates to the storage of messages?planningcoordinationconstraintpermanence